1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of electrical connectors and, more particularly, to an insulated quick connect/disconnect electrical connector including an extended insulating tab portion provided to protect a mating connector component.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Electrical connectors, which are interconnected one to another to establish a disengageable electrical contact, are known. There actually exists a wide array of connectors for interconnecting conductors, conductors to components, and the like. Of the many examples, the most common are known as male and female connectors which themselves take on a wide variety of forms, e.g. quick connect/disconnect tabs and receptacles, bullet connectors, and common household receptacles and mating plugs.
It is also known to utilize insulating covers with certain types of electrical connectors, with the covers serving to isolate the connectors from human contact or contact with other electrically conductive devices. For instance, with tab and receptacle type connectors, it is known to provide an insulating cover which extends about the receptacle to protect one half of the connection. The insulating cover terminates at the end of the receptacle and therefore, when a tab connector is positioned in the receptacle, a portion of the tab connector is directly covered. However, with such an arrangement, a remaining portion of the tab connector will remain exposed. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art electrical connection arrangement of this type wherein an electrical component 2 of an appliance is shown having arranged thereon first and second terminal tabs or blades 5 and 6. As shown, when an insulated receptacle connector 7 constructed in accordance with the prior art is secured to terminal blade 5, is a large portion 9 of blade 5 remains exposed.
The exposure of portion 9 can represent a potentially serious problem. For instance, electric component 2, or any other analogous component including one or more blades 5, 6, could be incorporated within an overall device which requires maintenance or other service work. Even if component 2 is not being tested, portion 9 will still be disadvantageously exposed for potential contact by technicians, tools, or the like. In cases where component 2 needs to be tested, component 2 may actually be mounted in a somewhat inaccessible location due to size constraints and/or arranged among a host of other electrical components. Under these circumstances, it may prove difficult to safely navigate through a maze of wires and connectors without inadvertently creating a short circuit by grounding an exposed electrical surface.
The prior art does present examples of electrical connector arrangements which, in some way, reduce exposure of electrical terminals. In accordance with one known arrangement, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,346, an insulating portion provided about an electrical receptacle-type connector is extended partially beyond an entire terminal end of the connector. The insulating portion restricts probe access to the receptacle or female portion of the connector in accordance with UL standards. However, this arrangement has little consequence on the exposure of a mating electrical blade. In a second example, presented in IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 19, No. 6, a line-cord socket includes a overhanging skirt which hides a screw fastener securing a mating two-prong plug to an electrical appliance. In operation, as the overhanging skirt hides the screw fastener, the two-prong plug cannot be removed without first disconnecting the line-cord socket to disconnect the appliance from a power source. Obviously, this overall arrangement does not represent a quick connect/disconnect electrical connector.
Certainly, while presenting effective solutions to select problems, neither of the above examples provide a solution to the aforementioned drawbacks associated with exposed surfaces in quick connect/disconnect electrical connectors. Therefore, despite the wide array of electrical connectors contained in the prior art, there still exists a need to provide protection against the exposure of mating electrical components in order to prevent inadvertent contact with electrically connected portions of quick connect/disconnect electrical connectors.
The present invention is directed to a quick connect/disconnect electrical connector incorporating an insulated cover including an extended insulating tab portion. Specifically, the electrical connector includes a conducting receptacle having a central plate, and first and second curved fixing rims extending from and terminating at a position spaced from the central plate. The fixing rims are provided to clampingly engage a tab or blade portion of a mating electrical connector. The receptacle further includes a conducting ferrule, interconnected with and extending from an end portion of the central plate, which is adapted to receive an electrical conductor in the form of a wire.
In particular, the receptacle of the electrical connector is provided with an insulating cover having a conductor end portion extending about and surrounding the conducting ferrule, a main body portion surrounding an electrical terminal of the receptacle, and an insulating tab portion projecting from the main body portion beyond the electrical terminal. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the insulating tab extends from an upper edge of the insulating cover a distance equal to a length in the order of about one-quarter to one-half the length of the entire receptacle. With this construction, as the receptacle is engaged with a respective blade connector, the insulating tab extends over the entire blade, thus avoiding the presence of any exposed blade portion.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the electrical connectors are constructed by forming a carrier strip constituted by a plurality of interconnected insulated covers. The insulated covers are interconnected through an intermediate portion or frangible link which serves as a bridge between adjacent insulating tab extensions. More specifically, each intermediate portion is interconnected to a pair of successive insulating tab extensions. At these interconnection locations, cut indicators are provided as a mechanism by which the insulated covers may be separated from the frangible links. In one preferred form of the invention, the cut indicators are constituted by an indentation traversing the intermediate portion. Still other forms of cut indictors are contemplated by the present invention, examples of which include a series of perforations running across the intermediate portion, an elongated notch located adjacent to each tab extension, and the like.
After formation of the carrier strip, a conducting receptacle is inserted into each respective insulated cover, thus forming an electrical connector. The completed connector can then be provided to a manufacturing line as is, or separated into individual connectors depending upon the instantaneous need of an end user. Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.